A little bit of Ohio, a little bit of Texas Marty Shoup enjoys cooking for her boys in remodele

Wednesday

Jul 22, 2009 at 5:01 AM

RECIPE - Shoup

By CAMI BOHRER

T-G Food Writer

Shortly before Marty Shoup became pregnant with her first child, she and her husband moved into his family's farmhouse, which had been inhabited by one Shoup generation after another since 1946. The move suited her just fine except for one thing, and that was the "pea-sized" kitchen, as she described it.

Immediately, the couple began enlarging and remodeling, actually converting a one-and-a-half car garage and more square footage into additional basement, kitchen and upstairs accommodations. The project was completed about the time their baby was born.

"This kitchen is probably my favorite room in the house. It certainly gets the most use by my husband and children," Shoup said.

That enthusiasm from her all-male crew is due, in good measure, to Shoup's cooking style, which she began working on shortly after her engagement.

"After Rick and I were engaged, I thought I needed to expand what I made. I didn't think he would want to eat grilled fish and spaghetti all the time," she said.

Potato-topped Swiss steak is an outcome of her culinary home-schooling, a recipe she found in the library. Featuring round steak, this casserole includes carrot and onion slices, tomatoes, thyme and pepper, plus the convenience of grocery-shelf beef gravy for fantastic flavor.

"You can add more vegetables to it or different vegetables," Shoup said, adding that the dish takes no time at all to prepare. "It is all in the baking," she said, which is a two-hour process that tenderizes and flavors the meat to perfection.

"My mom was never one to use the mashed potato flakes when we were growing up. She would have been mortified at the thought, but now this is one of her favorite dishes to make," Shoup said.

Shoup's parents reside in her home state of Texas, which explains somewhat her penchant for spicy foods. However, her husband doesn't share her tastes. Taco pot pie is a compromise recipe for them, with the green chilies and salsa bringing a southwestern aspect that's mild enough for her husband to call it one of his favorites

This comes to the table in traditional pie format with a hearty filling of ground beef, corn and cheese that thickens to perfect serving consistency after a 5- or 10-minute timeout between oven and table.

"My mom loves this, too. She makes it for families who just had babies or meals for new neighbors," Shoup said.

Shoup did bring some recipes with her from her native state. One of those is Snicker's cake, an auction tradition when she was growing up.

"I got this from a family friend. At church or school, whenever we would have a cake auction, her girls would always make this cake. People would save up for this and it would go for $300 to $400," she said.

The reason is the evolution of a plain German chocolate cake mix into an impressive, incredibly gooey sweet. Much like the candy bars it is named for, this recipe features a half cake baked in a 9-inch by 13-inch layer, then topped with a rich and gooey caramel mix. Nuts and chocolate chips are added with the final half of the cake batter spread over all. Then it's back to the oven.

"The caramel bakes down through the bottom. In fact, you just want to lick the pan when the cake is gone because it is so good," Shoup said.

For church functions, Shoup adds whipped topping and chopped snickers candy bars as a garnish. However, at home, it often comes to the table warm and "unfrosted" to be served with a scoop of ice cream.

Shoup is particularly proud of blueberry peach cream cheese coffee cake. So is her family. This is a Shoup original, inspired by an online recipe she saw for blueberry peach muffins.

"It probably took me three tries to get it to where we all decided it was right," she said.

Her contributions to the baseline recipe involved the cream cheese and streusel that produce a moist coffee cake with rather defined layers. It also impresses folks at carry-in events, including the guests at her oldest son's preschool graduation ceremony recently.

"The boys were really upset after the graduation when they found out there wasn't any of the cake left," she said.

The boys include preschool graduate Joe, who is 5, and his little brother, Kyle, 2. Shoup and her husband are both employed on the family farm, he with the farming end of their grain acreage and she with the bookwork. The Shoups belong to Farm Bureau and are quite active as FFA alumni. The family resides at 1121 Ohio 89, Ashland. The Shoups are members of Maplegrove Church of the Brethren.

POTATO TOPPED SWISS STEAK

1 pound boneless (1/2-inch thick) beef round steak, cut in 6 pieces

1 cup carrots, sliced

1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced

1 (12-ounce) jar home-style beef gravy

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, divided

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups water

3 tablespoons butter

2 1/4 cups mashed butter flakes

3/4 cup milk

3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg, beaten

paprika

Put beef in an ungreased 9-inch x 13-inch baking dish. Top with carrots and onion.

Combine gravy, tomatoes, 1/4 teaspoon thyme and pepper, mix well then spoon over beef and vegetables. Cover with foil, bake at 350 degrees for 2 hours.

Meanwhile, bring water and butter to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat, stir in potato flakes, milk, parsley, salt and 1/4 teaspoon thyme, add egg and mix well.

Remove meat and vegetables from oven. Spoon potato mixture over meat, sprinkle with paprika to taste and bake, uncovered for 30 to 35 additional minutes or until potatoes are set and light golden brown. Cool 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Brown beef in a large skillet, drain. Add taco seasoning and water to skillet until beef is well coated.

Meanwhile, heat oil over medium high heat in a separate skillet. Add chiles and onion, cook 5 minutes or until tender, remove from heat and drain excess liquid. Stir in garlic salt and onion powder, pepper, corn and salsa. Mix well and set aside.

Put top crust over all, flute edges of crusts together and slit top crust in several places. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Meanwhile, melt caramels, butter and milk together in a large saucepan or double boiler, stirring to prevent burning. Pour over baked cake layer, sprinkle with nuts and chocolate chips, then cover with remaining cake batter. Return to oven and bake at 225 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.

Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake another 10 to 15 minutes.

Make streusel topping by combining 1 cup sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly.

Prepare muffin mix to package directions but do not mix in blueberries. Put half the batter in a 9-inch x 13-inch glass baking dish in which the bottom only has been greased. Put half the cream cheese mixture over top of batter, spreading to edges but taking care not to mix the two layers. Top with remaining batter.

Top with drained peaches and blueberries, drop spoonfuls of remaining cream cheese mixture over fruit. Cover with streusel topping and bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.